by Davida McLea
"If it's so set on me, then why did it leach energy from you that day in my office, especially after it tossed you down the stairs?” To his surprise, red stained McKenna's face and she suddenly found the parquet fascinating.
"Because we shared an energy signature,” she said simply. “When we had sex, we branded each other. It recognized your energy in me, so it came after me instead."
"Then why are you safe now?” he reached out and gently cupped her cheek. “It's not like we can go back and undo it.” He wouldn't have undone it even if he had been able to. He hoped she felt the same way.
"Lorena performed a cleansing and I constructed a new shield. It's like it never happened, so he won't recognize me."
There was no emotion in her voice. Like it never happened. So she had put it behind her. He had hoped that maybe, after everything settled down, they could talk and see if there was something besides sex between them, but McKenna seemed content to keep it in the past.
"Can you shield me? If I've inherited some sort of the same thing you have from Nan, it just makes sense that the same magic and shields should work on me.” It made perfect sense to Aidan. He could be shielded, but he wouldn't have to leave his own hotel. Perry wasn't interested in the investigation or cleansing, but he had only put money into the business. Aidan had poured his heart and soul into the building.
"Lorena's going to be pissed. If you're planning on staying, you're going to have to tell her.” A small knot of uncertainty fluttered in his stomach. “Can't you tell her? The truth is, she intimidates me just a little."
"The truth is, she intimidates me, too, sometimes. Which is why you're telling her. If you can't face Lorena, you have no business being here when we try to evict the spirit.” Her words were serious, but her cheeks dimpled and he found himself hoping she wouldn't smile. If she smiled, he would never be able to stay away from her.
"Fair enough. Point me in her direction."
* * * *
"Absolutely not.” A determined scowl painted Lorena's face.
McKenna watched in amusement as Aidan matched Lorena's glare. “Shield me or don't, I really don't give a damn, but you're not getting me out of this hotel. I'm staying in the Blue Room. I won't come out while you're doing your voodoo..."
"It's not Voudoun!"
"Whatever—I'll stay put while you're working. You won't even know I'm here, but I can't leave.” Genuine fear painted his features, and McKenna felt her heart soften. The Inn was his whole life. It was only natural that he be protective.
Lorena cut her eyes at McKenna and shook her head slightly. “This isn't a good idea. Not only for his safety, but for yours. But it's your skin. If you're willing to risk it,” she shrugged, “then I'm not going to argue with you anymore."
"What do you mean, McKenna's safety? I may have been a jerk to her at one time, but you yourself said it was that thing that caused it, and I don't care how strong it is, I would never do anything to hurt McKenna.” He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
McKenna leaned into his embrace, but immediately wished she hadn't. He felt entirely too good, warm and wonderful to hold. She tried to disentangle herself, but Aidan tightened his hold on her. None of it was lost on Lorena.
"Look at you two!” She shoved both hands through her hair and mumbled a torrent of angry words that McKenna was glad she couldn't hear. “Even with a cleansing and a shield your energy still intermingles. You're bound to each other, and I don't know how to unbind you. The sex must have been killer for your energy fields not to want to let go."
Even being used to Lorena's bluntness, McKenna felt herself blushing. She wanted to look up and see Aidan's reaction, but she resisted the urge.
"Aidan, look, I like you,” Lorena said. “Really, I do. But when you two had sex, it created a connection between you. I thought I had broken it when we did a cleansing and shield, but your energy fields keep reaching out to each other, even through her shield. I can shield you, but I'm not sure it would be enough to keep your energy separate. This demon recognizes your energy signature. It's like a fingerprint. It's uniquely yours, but if you've bonded with someone, if you've been present in their psyche, you leave that fingerprint behind. It recognizes the energy traces you leave behind on McKenna. It could try to attack McKenna and drain her of her energy. That's bad for her because it leaves her vulnerable, and it's bad for the rest of us because if the spirit has access to an energy source it will grow stronger and will be more difficult to fight."
"If I've left my psychic fingerprint on her already, why do I have to leave? What's done is done, isn't it?” Aidan wasn't giving up without a fight. McKenna's heart warmed, knowing that his stubbornness had as much to do with her as with his business.
"The closer you are, the stronger the bond.” Lorena looked from Aidan's face to McKenna's and back again. “I'm fighting a losing battle here, aren't I?"
"Look, against my better judgment, I'm willing to allow you to build a shield for me and I don't even know what that involves, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to be able to stay close."
"I know when I've been beat, but we're laying some ground rules, got it?"
"Got it."
"Rule number one,” she ticked off on her finger. “You will be heavily shielded and will wear a talisman on your person at all times—even in the shower."
"A talisman?” Aidan's right eyebrow quirked. “What do I need a talisman for?"
"Promise!” Lorena snapped.
"Okay, okay.” Aidan held his hands up in surrender. “I promise."
"Second rule. Your room will be shielded and you will be locked in..."
"Locked in! Now wait..."
"You will be locked in when our work begins every night,” Lorena's voice rose over Aidan's protests. “And you will stay there until dawn. I will not put my team in danger because you want to play the hero."
"Fine.” The word dropped from Aidan's lips like a stone.
"And you will stay away from McKenna for the duration of this operation."
"But..."
"I know you want to protect her, and I love you for it, but if you care anything about her, then you have to keep your hands off.” She leveled a look at McKenna. “And that goes for you, too. He can't very well stay away if you seek him out. I want both of you to promise me you'll stay away from each other. It's just a week."
"I'm still not sure I understand the need for all of this caution,” Aidan said. “I've been in the Inn since the renovations started and it never came after me before."
"It was too weak before,” Lorena explained. “It fed off your energy until it became stronger. Honestly, with his energy, Josh is a more appealing target, but if it can't get to Josh, it will take what it can get. You and McKenna are the next best thing."
"I can't leave her, Lorena,” he said earnestly. “I have to be here to protect her. It already tried to hurt her once."
"Fine, you can stay,” she sighed. “She would be more distracted by your not being here. I'll put you in rooms on opposite sides of the Inn, just to be sure."
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Eight
Aidan wasn't easy to shield. The entire process required a certain amount of trust, and while McKenna could tell that he trusted her personally, he was unsure about turning himself over to her. In his life, he had always been the one in control, and the pained expression on his face left little doubt in McKenna's mind that he was undergoing the procedure only under duress.
"Clear your mind,” she told him. “Concentrate on protection. Imagine that you are sitting in a circle of pure, white light."
"Oh, give me a break,” he sputtered.
"Just do it. If we don't leave this room with shields in place, Lorena will kick you out or leave herself."
In the end, he cooperated enough that McKenna was able to put an effective shield around him. She knew when they took. She hadn't realized how tightly their energy fields were meshed until their connect
ion was severed by the shield. She felt cold and somehow less than herself. Aidan felt it, too.
"What just happened?” he asked her. “I feel like a hand just reached inside of me and switched my heart off."
"That was our energy fields disentangling,” McKenna said with some embarrassment. “Your energy flow has gotten used to having an additional source. You'll be tired for a day or two until your body gets used to generating all of its own energy again."
Aidan's hand was warm when he reached out and clasped hers. Until he touched her, she hadn't realized how clammy her skin was. “I don't want to be used to that,” he whispered and dropped his head to kiss her.
"Don't,” she snapped. Aidan pulled back as though she had slapped him, his eyes showing surprise and disappointment. “You can't touch me,” she reminded him as she reluctantly pulled her hand from his grasp. “The more contact we have, the more our energy will leak through our shields. We can't risk it."
He stared at her, eyes darkened with desire, but eventually he nodded slowly. “Fine. If you think that's best.” McKenna watched his chest heave while he struggled to maintain even breathing. She knew that at the smallest sign from her, he would have his hands on her body and his lips on hers. The temptation to give in was too great.
"I need to go find Lorena,” she said. “You stay here. We'll begin the work soon. I'll send someone up in the morning to let you know when it's safe to come out.” She gave him a weak smile. “Do you have everything you need? Books? Snacks?"
"All I need is you."
McKenna's heart turned over in her chest. She felt heat shoot down her belly and damned the spirit that had taken up residence in Murphy's Corner Inn and Tavern.
* * * *
"Did everything go all right?” Lorena asked McKenna as she joined the group in the front lobby.
"Fine,” she said. “It went just fine."
Lorena gave her a quick once over. “Liar,” she said. “Leave it to you to pick the worst time to remember that you're a woman."
"What's she talking about?” Josh asked.
"Don't worry about it,” McKenna laughed. “It's just an old joke between friends.” Privately, McKenna was glad that Lorena had not begun giving Josh his lessons. He was already perceptive, and when trained to harness his power, it would be impossible to keep secrets from him. Then McKenna would have two people on her case.
Josh didn't say anything, but his eyes darted from Lorena to McKenna and back again. He was suspicious, but too polite to say anything. “What do we do first?"
"We're going to do a second investigation tonight. I know that you"—Lorena nodded to Josh and Julie, giving them credit for their work ... “did one last month, but things can change. I want to be absolutely sure of what we're dealing with before we attack and try to rid the building of any negative entities.” Her voice held the assurance of one who was used to being listened to. McKenna glanced at Josh and could tell he was in thrall. “Julie will do EMF again—I was really, really impressed by the report that you did last time you were here.” Julie beamed and McKenna was impressed at how deftly Lorena handled people. Not all paranormal investigators handled the living as well as they did the dead. “We are going to need a little more in-depth readings, though, so Eric is also going to do EMF so that you will be free to take as many readings as you can. Eric will take the Confederate Suite, the hallway and the Green Room. I want you to take the Union Suite, the Honeymoon Suite and the Bootlegger's Suite. But be careful in the Union Suite. I think that is where it is most active. I don't think that it will come for you, since you can't see it, but if it figures out what the EMF meter is, it might turn nasty."
Julie turned white, but she nodded. “Okay."
"McKenna, I want you to man the video camera and attempt communication. Sam will come with you. He's excellent at shielding, and this thing has already come after you before. Sam can help you defend yourself if the time comes."
McKenna thought Sam looked like a human shield himself. At well over six feet, with shoulders as wide as a doorway and biceps the size of McKenna's waist, he looked like he could handle any threat, physical or arcane.
"Josh.” He jumped when Lorena addressed him. “You'll be taking still photos. I also want you to take a thermometer to record any temperature fluctuation. I'll be helping you take notes.” McKenna and Lorena had discussed what to do about Josh. With Lorena's strength and McKenna's skills, it was possible they could get rid of the demon on the first night if they were paired together, but Lorena was scared to leave Josh alone. McKenna was a target, but together with Sam, she could hold off the spirit until Lorena got there. Josh was still untrained, and even someone as strong as Sam wouldn't be able to fight a spirit intent on getting to Josh.
"These are amulets,” she told them as she passed around tiny white bags on the end of a black cotton cord. “Put them around your neck and don't take them off."
Josh held his to his nose before slipping it over his head. “What's in them?"
"Salt and fennel. They have been charged, so they will give you an extra layer of protection. If you find yourself in a situation that you can't get out of, open the amulet and sprinkle the contents in a circle around you while you call for help. It will buy you some time.” She watched as everyone put on their amulets. Once satisfied that everyone was as protected as she could make them, she gave each of them a grim look. “This is it. However many ghosts you've encountered, it won't prepare you for dealing with a demonic spirit. Be vigilant. Be careful. And whatever you do, stay together.” She clapped her hands once. “Let's get to it, gang. We have work to do."
* * * *
The back staircase loomed in front of McKenna. Through the video camera, it looked innocuous enough, but after her last experience going down the stairs, she hesitated before setting foot on the bottom step.
Sam caught her hesitation. “Do you want me to go up first?"
McKenna shook her head. “No,” she said. “I should go up first. If I fall, hopefully you can catch me before I end up in a heap.” Her throat constricted so that she could hardly speak, and her feet felt glued to the floor. She gave herself a sharp mental shake. She couldn't let fear throw her off her game.
"Lorena said this thing attacked you before. Was it on the stairs?” Sam was astute. It was no wonder he was on Lorena's team.
"Yeah, it was. Which is why I need to go up first. If I let this thing scare me into changing the way I do things, I may as well retire."
Sam gave her an encouraging smile. “Good girl,” he said. “Lorena told me to offer to go up first. I think she wanted to see if you were okay."
"Damn Lorena and her tests,” McKenna said, but she couldn't be offended by her friend's nosiness. Her concern came from a place of affection, and McKenna had been the one to ask Lorena for help. “I hope you tell her I passed."
"With flying colors."
"Well, let's get going up these steps.” She handed the camera to Sam. “You want to shoot?” She didn't trust her hands to stay steady enough to capture clear images.
He took the camera from her and pointed it just above her shoulder. “We're rolling,” he said.
McKenna took the first five steps at a fast clip, but slowed to a stop near the middle. “Right here,” she said to Sam without turning around. “I was standing on this step when I was thrown down the stairs.” Goosebumps rose on her arms, but she couldn't tell if it was from a drop in the temperature or her own nervousness. “Is anyone here?” she called. “Who are you? What is your name?” She cocked her head, listening for any sound. She could hear Sam's breath stop so she could detect any disembodied voices. Silence answered her questions.
"Nothing,” she whispered as she started back up the steps. She heard the steps behind her creak and turned to watch Sam join her at the top of the stairs, but he hadn't moved from his perch near the middle of the steps.
"That wasn't me,” he told her.
"Who are you?” McKenna repeated with more patience
than she felt. She wanted to scream out at the demon, but she knew from her experience with ghosts that anger only provoked negative reactions from spirits. She stood waiting, but still received no answer. A cold form pressed along her side, as if a body shared the step with her. She looked to Sam, but his face had gone white as he looked at the LCD screen on the video camera. “What is it, Sam? What's wrong?” But Sam just shook his head.
"Lorena,” he whispered. “Lorena needs to see this.” He waved her on. “We have to keep going."
"Should I take the camera?"
"No,” Sam said. “I need to keep the camera on you."
"You see it, don't you?” The words barely cleared her lips. “In the camera—it's following me."
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Nine
The entire crew, plus Aidan, met in the dining room and went over their findings. Julie's notes were intricate, with temperature variations and EMF readings tied together with comments from Eric about cold spots, crawling skin and shivers up his spine. He was more sensitive to phenomena than Julie and believed with his whole heart and soul. Even though McKenna was exhausted, she couldn't help but smile at the look of disgust Julie had given Eric when he talked of merging with a ghost and “reading” its memories. Julie was warm and kind, but she was also logical and methodical and had very little patience with someone who placed his trust in hunches and feelings instead of cold, hard scientific facts.
The pictures that Josh and Lorena took showed dozens of orbs. “There's a lot more now than last time,” Josh said.
"That's because the demon has made this place a hot spot. Once we get rid of it, the orbs will vanish.” Lorena turned to address McKenna. “The ghosts all hovered around Josh. It was amazing. I've never seen anything like it.” Josh blushed. “Even with the heavier shields, ghosts can see him."
"Then why did the demon follow me all night?” Not that McKenna would have wished the demon on Josh, but if Josh was so powerful, why wasn't the demon after him?
